Cardinals favored to repeat as SCCAL champ; Mustangs look to bounce back in new PCAL

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Arizona State committed Santa Cruz High senior GJ Hill chases down a grounder during practice. Hill has moved from the outfield to shortstop for the Cardinals for the 2019 campaign. (Shmuel Thaler — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

As is the case at the outset of each spring, confidence is high on baseball diamonds throughout Santa Cruz County.

And it’s especially high at Santa Cruz High, home of the reigning Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion.

“We should not lose in league,” said Dustin Torchio, the Cardinals’ fourth-year coach .

Torchio’s team is out to prove it’s one of the best in the Central Coast Section, even the state. It features a heralded class of seniors: Arizona State-committed shortstop GJ Hill, a scout magnet ahead of MLB’s First-Year Player Draft in June; San Diego State-committed infielder and pitcher Javier Felix, the returning SCCAL MVP; and NCAA D-I prospect Clayton Ray, the reigning SCCAL Pitcher of the Year.

The Santa Cruz High squad during practice as the Cardinals hope for great things this season. (Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Javier Felix, who is committed to play baseball at San Diego State next year, is one of the reasons the Cardinals have high hopes for the season. (Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Arizona State committed Santa Cruz High senior GJ Hill chases down a grounder during practice. Hill has moved from the outfield to shortstop for the Cardinals for the 2019 campaign. (Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

A Scotts Valley High player takes his cuts during practice this week. (Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Scotts Valley High pitchers and catchers get in some work as they prepare for the 2019 campaign. (Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

A year after going 12-0, Torchio is hoping his team stretches its dominance beyond the county lines. To prepare the Cardinals for the CCS Open Division playoffs — which is where the SCCAL champion gets placed — he has assembled a beyond grueling schedule that includes national powers Saint Francis of Mountain View and Valley Christian, which has won eight CCS titles since 2000, including the past two Open crowns; 2018 Open Division runner-up Los Gatos, Archbishop Mitty, and six-time North Coast Section Division III champion Miramonte, among others.

For the first time since 2000 — when Soquel star and future MLBer Casey McGehee predicted his game-running home run in the regular-season finale to help the Knights go 18-0 for the SCCAL title — the SCCAL season will feature more than 12 games.

The locals are ready for the changeup. St. Francis has departed to to the Pacific Coast Athletic League, leaving six teams in the SCCAL. The remaining teams — Aptos, Harbor, San Lorenzo Valley, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Soquel — will play each other three times each, including twice in the same week, as every team will likely see every other team’s ace.

Torchio, who last season guided the Cardinals to their first SCCAL regular-season title since 2007, said it won’t change the result. His team, which opened the season with a 1-0 loss on the road to No. 15 nationally ranked Saint Francis of Mountain View, is favored to repeat as champion.

Torchio wants to do so without a loss. Scotts Valley, Aptos and a few other teams are intent on ruining that goal.

The Cardinals return 10 players, including six starters. Senior center fielder Alex Williams is back, as are a trio of juniors: catcher Dillon Danner, the team’s leadoff hitter, second baseman Kinsal Plunkett, and pitcher Brady Chavez.

Chavez and sophomore righty Scotty Pramuk will fight for the No. 2 spot in the rotation and Felix, who didn’t pitch last season, will appear out of the bullpen to start the year.

“I expect us to be really good,” Torchio said. “This is the best pitching staff we’ve had and pitching is everything.”

The top of the lineup should feature some fireworks with Hill, Felix and Ray, the cleanup hitter, but bottom half has several players in new spots and could take some time for them to gain comfort.

“If they can hit, I think our offense will be good,” Torchio said.

Unlike a year ago, Hill and Felix didn’t play basketball during the winter and have gotten a jump on their baseball seasons.

Hill moves from center field to shortstop. The switch hitter batted .296 last season and Torchio said he’s improved vastly after shining in summer showcases.

“His swing from the right side looks drastically better,” Torchio said. “He worked his butt off and focused on baseball.”

Aptos, under fourth-year coach Jason Biancardi, returns six starters from a team that went 18-8 last season while starting three sophomores.

One of the team’s top “newcomers,” David Eichhorn, is one of its biggest talents. Eichhorn, whose father, Mark, and older brother, Kevin, played professional, missed the majority of last season after transferring in from Monte Vista Christian and injury. The 6-foot-2 right-hander, the anointed staff ace, will also play shortstop.

Junior second baseman/shortstop Luke Keaschall, the Mariners’ leadoff hitter, and No. 2 hitter Jack Bollingier, a catcher/outfielder out of San Ramon in Danville, also headline the team.

“We’re very deep this year,” Biancardi said. “We’re very athletic and very deep with hitting. … If we keep hitting, I think we can beat anybody in league.”

Scotts Valley’s second-year coach Adrian Demar saw his team go 4-8 last season but he figures the Falcons will be a contender considering he returns his entire team — now all juniors and seniors. Among them is the return of staff ace Noah Daniels, a righty who missed last season with a shoulder injury.

“Daniel is nasty,” Demar said. “He’ll probably be a D-I pitcher when all is said and done.”

Junior right-handers Bryce Clark and Brody Affolter fill out the starting rotation and Patrick Sweeney will serve as closer.

Senior outfielder Phil Garrison, a near .400 hitter last season, senior first baseman Ryan Bariteau and junior Shane Burns all hit higher than .300 last season. Throw in 6-5 junior first baseman/outfielder Tyler Rehnberg, aka “Aaron Judge Jr.,” junior utility player Corbin Shaeffer, junior catcher Connor Schelstraete, and Demar thinks the Falcons will do some damage. So much so, they call their lineup, “Death Row.”

“We’ll have a great batting average with some pop.” DeMar said. “We’re gonna have the best pitching staff in the league, that’s my job, and we’ll look real sharp on defense.”

DeMar said he hopes to stun Santa Cruz.

“We’re gonna get the job done this year,” he said. “It has been haunting and motivating me.”

Harbor, under 12th year coach Joseph Allegri, has gotten off to fast starts before. Now the Pirates are hoping to finish strong. With eight returning starters, including junior shortstop/pitcher Brendan Bobo, they think they can make it reality.

The young Pirates have just one senior, pitcher/outfielder Luke Salem, and one sophomore, staff ace Jack Gifford, and the rest are juniors. Among them is third baseman/pitcher Alex Tucker, who might be the team’s closer, and versatile Wyatt Guerra, who will challenge Gifford as staff ace.

Allegri likes his teams high baseball IQ and chemistry, the best in his tenure.

“They have high expectations for themselves,” Allegri said. “They’re cage rats and baseball rats. I think we’ll be competitive in every game. The kids do a good job of focusing on themselves. But the hunger is there to do some upsets.”

SLV has just 11 players, but five of them return, including third-year player Aiden Callahan, the 6-3, 210-pound staff ace and first baseman. Also back are junior shortstop Vinny Prograce, sophomore left-handed pitcher Aden Rich, sophomore outfielder Brodie Brownlee, and senior third baseman CJ Lang.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jackson Parmenter, who also plays first base and third, junior catcher RJ Kindred and junior second baseman Tyler Costere help the Cougars’ push.

“We’re a good 11,” returning coach Shane Sutcliffe said. “I think we’ll be really competitive. With such a small roster, out guys get more work than most.”

Soquel, under 10th year head coach Robert Zuniga, has a unique situation on his hands: a team with no seniors. He’s optimistic about the second half of this season and future seasons, once the players gain experience, but the Knights will be at the lower end of the learning curve until then.

“I like what I have,” Zuniga said. “I just have to be patient.”

Zuniga has five juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen, including 6-3 Max Mendoza, a center fielder, third baseman and pitcher who is already drawing NCAA D-I looks.

“He’s the top freshman in the county,” Zuniga said. “He’s such an athlete.”

Another Knight who could end up at the D-I level is 6-2 sophomore pitcher and second baseman Nathan Maas, who is already throwing his fastball in the mid-80 mph range.

Returning junior shortstop Kevin Ito and junior first baseman and cleanup hitter Kit Laurits, a transfer from Archbishop Mitty last year, have the Knights optimistic about the future. Junior catcher Angelo Debenardo and sophomore third baseman Andrew Raynal also help the Knights’ push.

PCAL GABILAN DIVISION

Monte Vista Christian and St. Francis will compete in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division with Christopher, Gilroy, San Benito, Monterey, Palma and Salinas.

Don Keathley, back for his ninth season at MVC’s helm after being terminated as coach two years ago, is familiar with the opponents. It’s the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division from a year ago, but it’s new waters for the Sharks, who competed in the SCCAL last season.

“The ultimate goal is playoffs,” Keathley said. “Obviously, one of our goals is to win the first PCAL. Everything runs through Hollister,” the 2018 MBL-G champion.

If they can do that, they’ll have gone from worst to first. They’ve gotten off to a fast start, scoring a total of 27 runs in a pair of wins over Palma earlier this week.

Junior staff ace and cleanup hitter Aiden Lee (6-4, 210) headlines a team full or arms, speed and offense. Junior righty John Corea and senior left Matt Sanders fill out the rotation. Keathley has nine pitchers, six of whom throw in the 80-mph range.

“This is the best team I’ve had since I’ve been here, talent-wise,” Keathley said. “It’s a real blessing to have this many players.”

None of the 20 Mustangs — 12 seniors and eight juniors — played a winter sport, so they’re are ready to roll. Two speedy seniors, Dominic Felice, a switch-hitting catcher, and utility player Jason Bettencourt, return and will see action out of the leadoff spot in the batting order.

“Everyone gets the steal sign,” Keathley said. “It’s more fun. None of them are base cloggers. They can all run.”

Senior outfielder Harrison Zischke returns, as do a trio of juniors: outfielder Tyler Keenan, shortstop Roberto Nunez, and second baseman/pitcher Marshall Silva. The team also has some newcomers who sat last year out: outfielders Dan Brierley, Quinn Alexander and Scott Tinsley, all of whom shined on the football field. Another football player, junior quarterback Nathan Renggli, will see action at catcher or elsewhere since he has a solid bat.

St. Francis, under ninth-year coach Ken Nakagawa, has four returners on their youth-laden squad. The Sharks have four seniors, two juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen.

A pair of senior right-handed pitchers, C.J. Gomez and Dominic Cordova, lead the way for the Sharks. Cordova, a transfer from Saint Francis in Mountain View who has already committed to an NCAA D-III program in Texas, will also play outfield while Gomez will play third base.

“Pitching looks great,” Nakagawa said, “but we’re not a deep as years passed. Offensively, we’re gonna be pretty good. I like the physicality of our younger guys. I’m excited about our future.”

Senior Julian Mendoza, a transfer from MVC two years ago, will play shortstop and fill out the rotation.

Nakagawa is high on sophomore utility player Ruben Castaneda, who will primarily play second base but fill in elsewhere, including on the mound. Nakagawa likened Castaneda to former Sharks star Sahid Valenzuela, a junior shortstop for Cal State Fullerton.

“He has a high baseball IQ,” Nakagawa said.

Freshman Miles Guardino, a catcher and infielder, is out four weeks with a broken thumb. He’ll likely be the team’s closer when he returns.

PCAL MISSION DIVISION

Watsonville will compete in the middle tier of the PCAL, the Mission Division, with Alisal, Carmel, Everett Alvarez, King City, North Salinas, Pacific Grove and Soledad.

James Garza, who served as interim coach for the Wildcatz after Leroy Dozal was fired five games into last season, returns for his second season at the helm. His team features six seniors, four of whom return: catcher/pitcher Dylan Vargas, pitcher/shortstop Jeremy Diaz and outfielders James Sandoval and Keanu Duarte.

Sandoval missed all of last season with a broken foot.

Duarte will also pitch, as will sophomores Jared Martinez, Frankie Guzman and Donovan Mendoza.

Diaz, the leadoff hitter, and Sandoval, who bats No. 2 in the lineup, hope to get on base ahead of sluggers Vargas (6-1, 200) and junior Ryan Itamura (6-1, 200).

PCAL CYPRESS DIVISION

Pajaro Valley will compete in the bottom tier of the PCAL, the Cypress Division, with Gonzales, Greenfield, North Monterey County, Seaside, Stevenson and Trinity Christian.

“I’m excited,” fourth-year Grizzlies coach Matt Manfre said, noting he likes the equity league. “They made everything more competitive across the board. The light at the end of the tunnel is slightly bigger.”

Pajaro Valley snapped its 131-game league losing streak last season and looks to make continued progress with nine returning players. Among them, fourth-year varsity players John Ramos, a first baseman and left-handed pitcher, and Rocky Ramirez, a catcher and right-handed pitcher. Senior middle infielder Eddie Renteria returns for his third season.

Utility players JJ Briceno and Ivan Rea-Martinez also return.

Senior third baseman Manny Murillo (6-1, 259), a tight end on the football team, will also pitch and bat No. 3 or cleanup for the Grizzlies. Senior Max Arevalo will play outfield.

Newcomers Robert Hays, a senior outfielder, and freshman catcher/utility player DJ DeLuna also hope to help the Grizzlies find success. Returning sophomores include outfielder Kevin Ibarra, third baseman/outfielder David Gonzalez, and shortstop/pitcher Derek Quintana.

Contact Jim Seimas at 831-706-3256.

If You Go

High school baseball

Friday’s games

San Benito at St. Francis: 3:30 p.m.

SLV at Aptos: 4 p.m.

Soquel at Harbor: 4 p.m.

MVC at Gilroy: 4 p.m.

Scotts Valley at Santa Cruz: 4:30 p.m.

Carmel at Watsonville: 7 p.m.

Ones To Watch

High school baseball

Clayton Ray, Santa Cruz, Sr.: Big lefty, cleanup hitter is the returning SCCAL Pitcher of the Year and boasts a D-I arm